The State of South Africa’s Marine Species

Marine realm

Kerry J. Sink1 , Megan G. van der Bank1 , Domitilla C. Raimondo1 , Dewidine van Der Colff1 , Charlotte Boyd2 , Keenan Meissenheimer1 , Shae-Lynn E. Hendricks1 , Allistair Mclnnes3 , Bruce Mann6 , Ryan Daly6 , Linda Harris4 , Lara Atkinson5 , Sean Porter6 , Sven Kerwath7 , Charlene da Silva7 , Shanan Atkins8 , Matthew Farthing9 , Azwianewi Makhado7 , Mduduzi Seakamela7 , Alison Kock10 , Els Vermeulen11 , Sarika Singh7

1. South African National Biodiversity Institute

2. Birdlife South Africa

3. Birdlife

4. Nelson Mandela University

5. SAEON

6. Oceanographic Research Institute

7. Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment

8. Tshwane University of Technology

9. Rhodes University

10. South African National Parks

11. University of Pretoria, Marine Mammal Research Institute

Published

November 17, 2025


Globally, South Africa is reported to have the third-highest level of marine species endemism, meaning that the country has a critical role to play in international marine species conservation. Several marine species are faring better in the country than elsewhere in the region. However, marine species have among the highest data deficiency across all realms signalling the need to build foundational knowledge and capacity to support assessment for informed management and decision-making. Of the 506 species assessed using the IUCN Red List; sharks, rays and chimaeras; corals; seabirds and seabreams are among the most threatened species groups.

Jenkins’ whipray, Pateobatis jenkinsii, is wide ranging and is globally Endangered. © Geoff Spiby
36%
of 506 taxa assessed are
Threatened
32%
of 65 stocks
Depleted or Heavily Depleted
8%
of 506 taxa are
Data Deficient
25%
of 65 stocks
Unknown

Species stock status

Stock assessments are conducted for fisheries species and constitute a rigorous approach to assessing species’ resource status. Stock status is distinct from IUCN Red List status which uses the IUCN approach to assess extinction risk, although stock status and fisheries catch trends are often a key informant in IUCN Red List assessments.

Improvements in stock assessment methods, particularly for data-sparse species, have enabled more species to be assessed since the last NBA. A total of 65 stocks were reported as assessed in 2025. Of the assessed resources, nearly a third are depleted or heavily depleted (32%) and 43% are abundant or optimally exploited (Figure 6). The stock status of a quarter of South Africa’s assessed marine resources (25%) remains unknown due to insufficient knowledge and data (Figure 6)18.

Effective science-based management has supported stock recovery of the carpenter seabream Argyrozona argyrozona and the roman seabream Chrysoblephus laticeps in the last two decades. Important resources such as silver kob Argyrosomus inodorus remain depleted, despite signs of improvement from its previous heavily depleted state; whilst dusky kob A. japonicus, dageraad Chrysoblephus cristiceps and red steenbras Petrus rupestris remain heavily depleted and are yet to show significant signs of stock recovery. Importantly, the seventy-four seabream Polysteganus undulosus is showing the first signals of recovery following a 27-year moratorium imposed on capture of this species (link to sparid page). Recovery of many linefish species has been hampered by their life history characteristics, including slow growth, late maturity, hermaphroditism and residency, which make them vulnerable to exploitation. Whilst the linefish emergency declared in 2000 has supported some stock recovery through a reduction in exploitation19, many linefish remain unassessed or depleted and are sought after particularly in the open-access recreational fishery and the newly recognised small-scale fishery. Recent recommendations focus on more holistic ecosystem-based management for the line fishery20 that recognizes the complexities of the multiple sectors, species, and interacting socio-economics. Harmonised policy and fisheries governance (across commercial, recreational and small-scale sectors) can enable more equitable sharing of limited linefish resources and can stand the line fishery in good stead to not only see species recovery but also maximize economic and social benefits and outcomes20.

Large pelagic resources such as southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii, bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus and swordfish Xiphias gladius are depleted. While very few sharks and rays have fisheries stock assessments, many of those assessed still have too little data to assign a stock status and have been listed as unknown. Where data are sufficient, several are in a poor state, with soupfin shark Galeorhinus galeus being heavily depleted, and shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus, common smoothhound Mustelus mustelus, dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus, happy eddie Haploblepharus edwardsii, yellowspotted skate Leucoraja wallacei and twineye skate Raja miraletus assessed as depleted. As apex predators, sharks and rays play an important role in marine food webs. Currently, sharks and rays are targeted in the demersal shark longline fishery and the KwaZulu-Natal bather-protection shark nets and caught as bycatch in several fisheries including the large pelagic longline fishery. Urgent effort is needed to halt the rapid decline in shark and ray resources. Management strategies such as the published National Plan of Action for Sharks II21 and the draft National Shark Biodiversity Plan22 make recommendations for improved fisheries and biodiversity elements of cartilaginous fish management. Implementing these recommendations, particularly through a coordinated approach that provides for integrated shark and ray conservation is needed to secure South Africa’s globally significant shark, ray and chimaera biodiversity (link to shark and ray page).

Traditional fishing resources such as snoek Thyrsites atun, and commercially important resources such as shallow-water hake Merluccius capensis remain abundant with deep-water hake Merluccius paradoxus being optimally exploited.

The stock status of invertebrates such as white mussel Donax serra and octopus Octopus vulgaris were assessed as unknown, despite the use of these resources gaining popularity and white mussel being assessed as Endangered by the IUCN (Box 6). Abalone Haliotis midae and West Coast rock lobster Jasus lalandii remain heavily depleted due to illegal resource use.

To ensure fair and sustainable fisheries that support ocean life and human livelihoods, effective fisheries management plans should be implemented for all sectors, to manage the impacts on ecosystems, species, genes and people (link to Key message and marine priority action)

Figure 6. Stock status of South Africa’s marine living resources (adapted from DFFE 2025)18

Approach

For the marine realm of the NBA 2025, we report on species assessed using the IUCN Red List in terms of extinction risk and the state of resource species for which stock status is assessed.

South Africa’s IUCN Red List assessment work is co-ordinated by SANBI’s Threatened Species Programme but is conducted by groups of species specialists. A total of 506 South African marine species have been assessed using the IUCN Red List criteria through a combination of national, regional and global assessments. Assessments of sharks, rays and chimaeras, sparids, and corals were undertaken by the IUCN species specialist groups, with many species assessed using global assessments. However, 33 species of cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays and chimaeras) were assessed nationally, meaning that the IUCN criteria were applied to the portions of the populations that occur in South Africa’s water. Adjustments were undertaken for species where we had sufficient data to show that extinction risk trends were different from global trends.

The NBA 2025 assessment includes IUCN Red List assessments for kobs conducted as part of South Africa’s kob conservation strategy8 the first assessments for beach invertebrate fauna, assessments for selected marine invertebrate resource species and compilation of global coral assessments for shallow water coral species reported in South Africa. Seabirds were regionally assessed by BirdLife South Africa (BLSA), mammals were regionally assessed by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and reptiles were assessed using a combination of global and regional assessments.

The trend in species IUCN Red List status over time was measured using the globally recognized indicator, the IUCN Red List Index of species (RLI). The RLI is calculated for specific taxonomic groups based on genuine changes in Red List categories over time. The RLI value ranges from 0 to 1, and the lower the value the faster the taxonomic group is heading towards extinction – i.e. if the value is 1, all taxa are Least Concern and if the value is 0, all taxa are extinct. In 2025, sharks, rays and chimaeras, sparids, and corals were included in the RLI for the first time.

Information about resource stock status is drawn from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment’s State of Fishery Resources reports18 to provide an overview of species stock status for fished taxa and examine main trends in marine resources over the assessment period.

Acknowledgements

We thank BirdLife South Africa who led the regional assessment of South African birds across realms and also co-ordinated the national adjustments for assessments on sharks, rays and chimaeras drawing from global efforts and national expertise. All contributors to the shark, rays and chimaeras assessments are acknowledged (see Sharks page). Scientists that contributed to sciaenid assessments and the kob conservation strategy are thanked and the Agulhas Bank Connections Project funded through the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Project is acknowledged. The Endangered Wildlife Trust is thanked for their leadership of the assessment of South African mammals across realms. All the many individuals who gave up their time to participate in workshops, discussions, and author and review individual species assessments are sincerely thanked. We thank all the IUCN global assessment teams including but not limited to the IUCN SSC Coral Specialist Group, IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group and Cetacean Red List Authority, the IUCN SSC Snapper, Seabream and Grunt Specialist Group, IUCN Shark Specialist Group and the IUCN SSC Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group. We acknowledge the SAEON led SeaMap project for supporting redlisting of marine invertebrate resource species and the development of a strategy to increase Red List assessments of marine invertebrates in South Africa.

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